The Dolphin Will Love the Shark or the Whale?
by Misty Rain the Female Warrior
Summary: Haru Nanase was a girl with an undying love for water and a talent for swimming. Her friends, Makoto Tachibana and Nagisa Hazuki, support her all the way. However, back from Australia, Rin Matsuoka came back for her. She suddenly realizes she has feelings for not only Rin, but for Makoto too. And they both feel the same way. Who will she love? *Sucky summary, I know. :(*
1. Childhood

**Hello! Welcome to my fanfic. Here, Haru-chan is a girl and her name is Haru instead of Haruka. The rest of the boys are boys of course. This is a Fem!Haruka x Makoto x Rin fanfic (It's also a Fem!Haruka x Water story. XD). I hope you enjoy it! :) Here we go!**

*******Warning: This may become rated M for later chapters. Some stuff will made up by me. I just finished Episode 1 of Free!, so don't judge me about stuff.***

* * *

**Childhood**

"Hey! Haru-chan!" shouted a young Nagisa. "Come on! Daddy's cooking hotdogs!" Nanase Haru was very reluctant to leave Nagisa's rich dad's pool, so she answered, "No."

"Awww, Haru-chan! Aren't you hungry?"

Haru shook her head. "I'm not leaving here. Now if you'll excuse me..." She then submerged herself in the water. She looked at the fancy patterns that matched the setting in the water. She liked being in the water this way. It was "love" she says. She was in love with the water.

"Haruuuu-chaaaaaan!" yelled Nagisa. She ignored him and kept being in the water.

"Haru-chan! Don't be in there for so long!" shouted a voice that belonged to a young Makoto.

She still ignored it, but then, she felt a shortness in breath. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode. She quickly swam up to the surface and breathed in lots of air. She flipped her hair back and forth and saw Nagisa and Makoto with worried faces.

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked.

"I'm fine," Haru answered. "I just need air."

"You could've drowned!" Nagisa said. His eyes looked sad along with Makoto's.

"Me and the water were having a moment together," Haru insisted. "I just needed air, that's all. Gosh, why do you have to make such a big deal out of this?"

"You're our friend, so of course we'll make a big deal out of this," Makoto answered. Haru sighed. Typical friends of hers...

"I'll get hotdogs in a minute, okay?" she said. The two nodded as they left to the patio. Haru took in a lot of air and submerged back into the water. She swam all the way to the bottom and touched the floor with her finger. It was like if she swam to the bottom of the ocean and touched the surface. That would be a feat. Suddenly, she ran out of breath again. She felt her lungs screaming for air. She swam up as quickly as possible. All of a sudden, her hands and feet were tired from paddling. The surface looked far away from her. She was terrified. _Water...what are you..._ she thought weakly as she sunk deeper and deeper in the pool and blacked out.

She felt something on her mouth. She then didn't anymore and felt a pair of hands push her chest. She coughed out water and opened her eyes to see Makoto, Nagisa, and Mr. Hazuki above her. She stood up and asked, "What happened?"

"You were drowning, Haru-chan!" explained Makoto. "I told you NOT to be in the water for a long time!"

"I was scared you were going to die..." the yellow-haired boy muttered, almost close to a sob. "Haru-chan..."

"Young lady, you have to be more careful next time!" instructed Mr. Hazuki. "I didn't want to call your parents and tell them that you almost drowned." Haru frowned. The water didn't want her to leave perhaps, and it almost took her away from her friends.

"I'm sorry," the dark-haired girl said. "I'll be more careful next time."

"Oh, I hope so!" Nagisa looked about ready to cry. Makoto looked like he was about to cry too. Haru felt bad. She didn't mean her friends to worry much about her.

"I will. I promise. Don't you worry." Haru tried to smile, but failed.

Nagisa stuck out his pinky finger. "Promise?" Makoto stuck out his pinky finger too. "Yeah, promise, Haru-chan?" he added. She stuck out both her pinkies and locked them with their's.

"It's a promise, you guys. Don't worry." Their faces brightened up along with Mr. Hazuki's.

"So you want a hotdog?" he asked. Haru reluctantly nodded. He left.

"Do you want to play a game, Haru-chan?" asked Makoto. Haru nodded again.

"Oh! A game!" chimed Nagisa. "What is it?"

"I'll show you in a sec! Come on!" He and Nagisa ran off. Haru looked back at the pool. She frowned.

_I'll be gone for a while, _she thought. _I'll be back. But don't get me away from my friends. _She looked back her friends and ran to them.

* * *

The next day at their elementary school, there was swimming practice after school. Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa were in a team together. Haru put on a swimming cap and a pair of swimming goggles on. She was in her teal-blue one-piece bathing suit. She bent down and dived into the water. She swam freestyle smoothly with no problem.

"Her swimming style always look smooth," said Makoto, smiling at his friend's performance.

"Yeah!" Nagisa agreed. "Like a dolphin!" They both smiled. Both thought she was like a dolphin when it comes to swimming. A cute little dolphin. Suddenly, the two noticed another kid. His hair and eyes were a magenta color. He was wearing a boys' bathing suit, a swimming cap, and a pair of swimming goggles.

"Who's that?" asked Makoto.

"Matsuoka Rin-kun," Nagisa answered. "He transferred into our class last week." As Rin stretched the elastic band of his goggles and let it hit the back of his head, he bent down and jumped into the pool as well. He caught up to Haru. They both swam, turned, and swam back to the beginning where they started. Haru got there first. She took off her cap and goggles and flipped her wet hair back and forth. She saw Makoto's hand reach for her.

"Nobody can beat you when you're in the water, Haru-chan," her friend said. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her out of the water.

"That was so cool, Nanase-chan!" cheered the lovely yellow-haired boy. "I wanna swim like you!" A boy wants to swim like her? That almost made her laugh.

Rin got up from the pool with his goggles and swimming cap off. "You're as fast as the rumors said," he says. "What was your time?"

"I don't care about my time," Haru replied.

Rin laughed. "That's just like the rumors said too!" He grinned. "So, Nanase, you interested in entering a relay with me?" Haru frowned and answered, "I only swim freestyle." She went back into the water and floated like a balloon. She didn't care about fast swimming times. She cares about the water and being with it. That's why she swims.

"But you're amazing! You have to join!"

"No."

"Ah, don't mind Haru-chan, Rin," Makoto said. "Most of the time, she says no to anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she has her reasons for them though." Rin looked at the dark-haired girl. Maybe he should keep on asking her until she says yes. Besides, who wouldn't want a cutie to join a relay? He ran the pool and landed with a splash. Haru shielded herself from the splash.

"Haru, just think. With both of us teamed up, we could win anything! Even in the future!"

"I don't care." That's when he splashed her with some water. Makoto was getting a little annoyed about Rin's behavior.

"You should stop-" he was going to say, but got cut off by Rin.

"Come on, Haru! Please?" the magenta-haired swimmer pleaded. Haru pouted at him.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with cherries on top?"

"How many times are you going to ask me?"

"Countless until you say yes." Haru was getting annoyed of Rin. She turned and swam to the stairs to get out of the pool, but then Rin hugged her from behind and they both went into the water.

"Haru-chan!" both Makoto and Nagisa shouted. However, Haru and Rin were fine. They were just underwater.

"Pretty please with cherries and sprinkles on top?" Rin pleaded underwater. To Haru, it sounded like, "Pruuty pluse with charries and prinkles on yop?" Haru was getting tired of Rin doing this to her, so she said, "Fine. Just stop." Rin smiled as they both came up from the water.

"Haru-chan! Are you okay?" asked Makoto.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"Thanks, Nanase!" Rin said. "I knew you would say yes!"

_I only said yes because you were annoying, _thought the dark-haired swimmer. _Idiot. _But she felt a little proud to accept his invitation. She could have some fun with him. But it's only for the relay and nothing else.

* * *

**Ending here. What do you think of this chapter? I know all of you are fujoshis or whatever you yaoi fangirls call yourselves, so you want yaoi. But, I don't like yaoi (or hate it. I'm kind of neutral when it comes to yaoi.). I just wanted to do this because I want to.**

**You can read, review, follow, and/or favorite. ;) Let me know if there's a typo or something. I'll see you all later! **


	2. The Return of Rin Matsuoka

**Huh. I got a review! That shocks me since there's fujoshis here! But, I got you followers and favoriters! Yay! :D Here's Chapter 2! Enjoy!**

**krito1389: Thanks for your review!**

* * *

**The Return of Rin Matsuoka**

Now 17, Haru Nanase soaked in her bathtub full of water. It's what she always does. She was thinking back when she was a child. Her almost drowning in that pool and her accepting Rin's invite. She thought she was pretty childish as a kid, but she was a child back in the day. Rin moved to Australia. She missed him, and she doesn't know why. She sunk deeper into the water until her mouth was in the water.

_Rin... _she thought. She had good memories of him. She even remembered him saying he wanted to be an Olympic swimmer...or something like that. She has a feeling they were going to meet again, but Haru denied it. He's just gone. Since when did she care about him?

"Good morning, Haru-chan!" greeted a friendly voice she knew. She looked to her right and saw her friend, Makoto. He reached out his hand to her. She grabbed it and he pulled her up from the water.

"You know it's rude to come in here without knocking," Haru stated.

"It's not like you're ACTUALLY naked in the tub, Haru-chan," said Makoto. Haru sighed and left the room. She went into the kitchen and got an apron on. She got a mackerel from the fridge and began grilling it.

"Mackerel?!" Makoto exclaimed. "Why are you eating that?"

"Breakfast," Haru answered.

"Fish for breakfast?"

"I missed breakfast, so this is all I can eat."

"And you're cooking it with an apron over your swim suit?" She didn't answer. Makoto sighed. _Typical Haru-chan. _

...

When Haru was in her school uniform, she and Makoto were walking to school. Makoto was babbling about how they got the same class and the new teacher in the class. Haru looked at the ocean. _I hope it gets warmer so I can swim in the ocean, _she thought.

"By the way, I hope it gets warmer so you can swim in the ocean," Makoto said. Haru fixed her eyes on the ocean, still not answering him. Makoto's gotten used to her silent treatments for a while, so he didn't mind her not answering him.

* * *

As they were in their classroom, the teacher was taking attendance. When she reached Haru's name, she called out, "Mr. Nanase Haru?" Haru sighed. She's gotten used to being mistaken for a boy.

"Uh, Haru-chan's a girl, m'am!" Makoto stated. The class laughed. Haru sighed again, looking out the window.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Nanase-chan!" apologized the teacher. "You were absent yesterday, yes?" Haru nodded. She announced to the class, "I'm Amakata Miho, your new homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you all!" She smiled.

...

It was lunchtime. People around Haru were talking about Ms. Amakata. They say she went to college and had a job there, but quits after her dream fell through. Haru wasn't surprised that being a teacher was her plan B.

"Can we eat lunch on the roof?" asked Makoto. Haru nodded and thought, _Makoto needs a clue. _They both got up and left the classroom.

"I didn't bring lunch, just so you know," Haru said.

"Right, I'll share you my lunch." Makoto smiled. Haru's cheeks felt a little warm.

"What do you have for lunch?" she asked.

"Squid," he answered. Haru did liked seafood, so she didn't mind. Suddenly, they both heard a high-pitched voice saying, "Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" They looked around and saw an old friend they knew: Nagisa.

"It's been forever!" he said. "I'll be joining you two here in Iwatobi High School."

"Nagisa?!" Makoto and Haru said in union.

...

The three were on the rooftop eating lunch together. "How many years has it been?" Makoto asked Nagisa. "I don't think we've ever saw you after the swim club has been shut down."

"Yep, because I went to a different school," Nagisa said. "Ah! There's cherry blossom trees near the pool!" He pointed at a pool near cherry blossom trees. "Weren't there any cherry blossom trees next to the pool at grade school, Haru-chan?" As usual, she gave him the silent treatment.

"Don't mind Haru-chan. She usually gives the silent treatment a lot," Makoto stated.

"Ah."

Makoto looked at the pool. "Too bad the pool is old and not in use. There's no swim club either."

"Well, then where do you swim then?" Nagisa asked.

Haru finally spoke, "I quit swimming competitively."

Nagisa almost jumped. "What?! Why'd you quit?! I was all excited about getting to swim with you again in high school!"

"We're not little kids anymore. Things aren't the way they used to be."

Nagisa frowned. "Haru-chan..."

Makoto chuckled. "Well, she stopped swimming competitively, but she still loves water. Haru-chan can't live without being in the water." Makoto began to smile. "In the summer, she swims in the ocean, and she was soaking in the tub this morning."

The blonde boy turned to Makoto. "What does that have to do with swimming? That means she likes to bathe." An idea sparked in his head. "I know! How about a hot springs club?" Haru didn't answer him. He was shaking her shoulder. "Let's start a hot springs club!"

"I can't take the heat," Haru answered.

Makoto smiled. _Nagisa hasn't changed one bit. _To him, seeing the two friends together was like a penguin trying to befriend a dolphin. It was a funny sight. Suddenly, he saw a girl with magenta-colored hair eating with another girl. He knew her, but couldn't put a finger in it.

...

Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa went off of the rooftop. "Have you heard, guys?" Nagisa said. "The swimming club we went to in grade school is going to be torn down." Haru eyes widened. _What? _she thought.

"So before that happens, why don't we pay a visit?" Nagisa asked.

"To dig that up?" Makoto questioned. Haru knew what he was talking about.

"Exactly!" He lowers his voice saying, "We need to sneak in at night..." He held his hands, creeper-style.

"You can go by yourself," Haru said. She was about to leave the two, but Nagisa blocked her.

"Don't say that! Come with us, Haru-chan!"

"I'm not going." She tried to move away from Nagisa, but the blonde still blocked her.

"Don't you think it'll be fun?!"

"I don't, thank you very much." Nagisa gave up.

"Why don't you just humor her?" suggested Makoto.

"No. It's too much effort," said the black-haired water-lover.

"But there's a pool there." Haru become silent, not trying to react to the word "pool". "A pool is MUCH bigger than a bathtub." The two were waiting for their female friend's reaction. She looked at Makoto with big, sparkly eyes. He blushed a little.

* * *

When school was over and the sun was setting, Makoto and Nagisa were in Haru's home. "You live by yourself, Haru-chan?" the blonde boy asked.

"Her mom went with her dad when he had to move because of work," Makoto explained. He sniffed the air. It smelled like grilled fish. "Fish again, Haru-chan?" He and Nagisa went to her while she was grilling the fish.

"Nobody's forcing you to eat it," she said.

"Looks delicious!" Nagisa said. "Haru-chan was always a good cook!" Makoto smiled, then his expression darkened.

"So, are you sure about this?" he asked.

Nagisa looked at him funny. "Weren't you all for it earlier? Are you scared?

"It's not that. Is it okay just for the three of us to dig it up?"

The blonde boy frowned. "Can't do anything about that. Rin isn't in Japan anymore." Just hearing Rin's name made Haru miss him even more. Her face looked normal, but she felt sad. She remembered a moment from her childhood with Rin in it.

**Flashback:**

_Haru, Makoto, and Rin were outside. They were looking at some writing on some short brick walls. Suddenly, Rin said, "I'm not going to attend middle school here." Haru's eyes widened. She didn't think he was serious._

_"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Makoto._

_"I'm moving to Australia," Rin answered._

_"Austrailia?" said Haru. "You're moving to another country?"_

_"Yep. I'm going to a swimming school." He was smiling. Haru looked calmly mad and looked at the walls. One brick said, "For The Team". _

What are you trying to do to us? _She thought._

_"I'm going to be an Olympic swimmer!" Rin smiled bigger. Haru looked even more calmly mad._

_"Why haven't you told us that earlier? What about the relay?" Makoto questioned._

_Rin stopped smiling. "I'll swim the relay. I'll leave the day after the tournament. So this will the last time the four of us swim together." Makoto looked at Rin. She didn't look happy. He was worrying about her._

_"You only swim freestyle, right, Nanase-chan?" Rin asked. She still looked mad. "Well, that's why I need you for the tournament! This is our last chance!" He grabbed Haru's hands. "Please swim with me, Nanase-chan!" Haru's cheeks warmed a little bit. Makoto was getting jealous of Rin. Haru refused to see the magenta-haired boy and looked at the wall._

_Rin giggled. "Stop being so tsundere, Nanase-chan!"_

_Makoto was getting envious. "That's enough, Rin."_

_"Hold on a sec." Rin paused, then said, "Haru, if you swim with me..." She had no choice but to look at him. When she did, he was smiling and the wind was blowing his hair. "I'll show you a sight you've never seen before!"_

**End of Flashback**

* * *

At night, the trio was at the building. It looked worn-down. Makoto had a shovel.

"This place looks pretty trashed," said the green-haired guy.

"Oh! Just in case!" Nagisa unfolded a piece of paper and revealed salt. "Purifying salt."

Haru looked confused. "What do you need salt for?"

"They say this place is haunted," explained the yellow-haired boy.

Makoto grinned nervously. "Don't scare me."

"I'm not lying!" Nagisa said. Makoto shivered. Nagisa continued, "People have been seeing shadows moving around and heard sobbing voices." Makoto looked terrified. Nagisa threw the salt on Makoto, then Haru. The black-haired girl noticed something. She tapped her finger on the "salt" then put the small pieces in her mouth.

"This isn't salt, it's sugar," she stated. Makoto and Nagisa just glared at her.

...

Inside the building, Nagisa had a flashlight on. "Well, it's mental anyway, so sugar can still get the job done," he said.

"Cliché," Haru said.

"It is one of the oldest mistakes out there," Makoto added. Just then, something fell and made a noise. Makoto freaked out and grabbed on Haru.

"What is it?!" he yelped. Haru was getting annoyed.

"Makoto, you're on my chest," she said in an annoyed tone. Makoto quickly got his face out of her chest and said, "Sorry, Haru-chan." She sighed.

"My foot accidentally hit an empty can," Nagisa said.

Makoto looked annoyingly at him, "You did that on purpose..." He cried, "ARE YOU?!"

"You're always afraid of the dark," Nagisa stated.

"You're not helping any!"

"Sorry."

Haru heard some footsteps. She couldn't tell if it was real or part of her imagination. She ignored it and went on.

...

The trio looked around the school. Some of the things they saw weren't as worn-down and brought back memories to them. They reached to a lounge room. Nagisa spotted something. "Look!" he said. Everyone gathered around to see one picture. Nagisa flashed the flashlight on it. He pointed at it.

"This is the picture from when we won the relay!" the blonde boy stated. Haru saw her as a young girl with Rin, who had his arm around her and was carrying the trophy. She remembered the relay clearly and the time capsule.

**Flashback:**

_"The four of us won together, so it doesn't make sense for one person to take it home," said Rin. "So let's put it in a time capsule..." He paused as he put the lid on the capsule. "And dig it up when we're grown up!" He looked at Haru. "Romantic, right?" She blushed and looked away from him._

**End of Flashback**

"Haru-chan," Makoto called. Haru snapped out of her memory. "Let's go." She left the picture. "Yeah." They exited the room and walked on.

"C-can you pick up the pace a little?" asked Makoto as he was tugging Haru's shirt.

"What am I? Your babysitter?" she said. Makoto tugged on her shirt again to stop her. The two actually saw a figure coming to them. Haru squinted her eyes to see what it was. A figure of a man around her age...wearing a sports cap, sports jacket, and a sports outfit. Makoto let out a little squeak. Haru still couldn't identify the man coming to them. Suddenly, in the moonlight, the color, magenta, shown in his eyes and hair. Haru's eyes widened. _It can't be him, _she thought. _It can't be..._

"Yo," the man said.

"Who's that?" asked Nagisa.

"I c-can't tell," Makoto answered.

_I can, _Haru was thinking.

The man stretched the back of his cap. "I didn't think I'd run into you guys here." He let the back of his cap hit his head. That made everyone realize who he was. He took off his cap and revealed himself.

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa said.

"Rin!" Makoto shouted.

Nagisa jumped to Rin. "You're back from Australia!"

"What are you doing around here?" asked the green-haired guy.

"Oh man! This must be fate!" Nagisa shouted. "Some unseen force brought us all here at this exact-"

Rin was getting tired of this, so he cut the blonde boy off by saying to Haru, "So Gorgeous, you're hanging around with these losers?"

Haru looked lost. _Gorgeous? _

"Since when have you've been calling Haru-chan that?" Nagisa asked.

"And what are you talking about, Rin?" Makoto added.

"You never learn," Rin finished, ignoring the two.

"And what about you, Rin?" she questioned. "What have you learned?"

He grinned as he was cracking his neck back and forth. "Glad you asked. Let's race, Gorgeous." He was walking away. Haru was getting annoyed of her new nickname, but she accepted his challenge by walking with him.

"Wait, Haru-chan!" Makoto shouted. She was walking with Rin. _Rin should have stayed back in Australia, _he thought a bit angrily.

"Looks like we need to follow them," Nagisa suggested. The two ran off to them.

...

In the pool room, Rin took his shirt off. Haru took her shirt AND pants off. Just as Makoto and Nagisa came in, Rin said to Haru, "Man, you look better than when I last saw you, Gorgeous." Haru couldn't tell if this was Rin Matsuoka, the one she missed a lot, or some perverted Rin look-alike that's been stalking her in a sneaky way.

"They're going to swim here?!" Nagisa shouted. Makoto didn't like this kind of Rin. He suddenly noticed something about the pool.

"Haru-chan! Don't! It's a bad idea!" he yelled. Haru ignored it and began to stretch.

"Wait, you wore THAT all day?!" Makoto asked as he noticed Haru's swimsuit.

"Rin-chan too?" Nagisa added as he saw Rin in swimming wear.

"We have to stop them!"

"Do we really?"

"Hey!"

Rin and Haru glared at each other. Rin had his goggles on. They both ran to the diving boards.

"Let's do it, Gorgeous!" shouted Rin as he put his goggles on his eyes.

"Stop calling me Gorgeous," the black-haired female swimmer demanded. The two got into position on their diving boards.

"Ready, go!" Rin shouted. But neither of them moved. The pool was actually dry and empty. Nagisa flashed the flashlight on it.

"There isn't any water," he stated.

"I TOLD you guys to stop," Makoto said.

Rin took off his goggles and got off the diving board. "Lame." Haru got off the board, really ticked off.

"Oh yeah. You guys came here for this?" Rin asked as he held up the trophy from the relay years ago.

"Oh! Our trophy!" Nagisa stated.

"I don't need this thing anymore." He dropped it as he left. "See ya, Gorgeous." Makoto reached for the trophy, but it hit the ground.

"Rin-chan...he really changed." Haru just stared at him. _Just who is he?_

* * *

**Done! What do you think?**

**Review please! Follow and favorite too!**

**I can't wait for the next season of Free! *fangirls* Are you ready for it? :D**

**I'll see you all later! Byas!**


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